Carolina: Larry Page is back, now with a company Alphabet. Being the CEO of Kitty Hawk, he’ll be launching a flying car at the end of this year.
The Kitty Hawk flying car, will have an electrical engine, and come with a resemblance of a jet ski. The vehicle weighs 100kg and can travel at 25mph is at a prototype stage but will look different when it comes out. It also looks like a single passenger aircraft, shown in movies.
The president of the company, Sebastian Thrun, mentioned in a tweet today quoting a New York Times article and a link that shows the vehicle prototype in action.
— Sebastian Thrun (@SebastianThrun) April 24, 2017
“The prototype looks and feels a lot like a flying motorcycle,” a profile of the vehicle by the New York Times (NYT) reads. “You mount the seat and lean forward, just like you would on a bike.
“The controls are built into a set of handlebars and work similar to buttons and joysticks on a video game controller. It takes off and lands vertically, like a helicopter. But unlike a helicopter, the Flyer is 100% electric and powered by eight rotors.”
According to their official website, the new vehicle is “safe, tested and legal to operate in the US”, as long as it is flown in “uncongested areas.” Also, one doesn’t require a pilot’s license to run it, and Kitty Hawk claims that it can be learnt in a few hours of practice.
The vehicle is made only to fly over water. The company has not disclosed the cost yet but will offer a discount of $2000 (£1560) for people who are willing to pay an advance of $100 (£78) now. This payment will get them both the discount and some test flights with the Kitty Hawk.
-inputs from HT and NYT